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Yes, I agree with BROCK... for clarity, I did have to produce the original ownership to US Customs at time of crossing. US Customs stamped it when I arrived at the border.
I did not have to e-mail or fax US Customs a copy of the ownership 72 hours beforehand. Hope that helps.
BTW, this also means, you do not have to "buy" the car sight un-seen... to explain.. my transaction was.(I'm skipping some steps).. (1) I emailed 72 hours prior, to Customs at Niagara VIN, make, model and day I was crossing the border... (2) I rec'd a PPI from the dealer + 66 high definition pictures, Carfax, etc... (3) then I wired the $ to the dealer the day I got on the plane - they had the money by the time I landed... (4) I went to the dealership and drove the car... then I signed the documents (note, I signed after I test drove - though getting my $ back might have been interesting had I decided to back out)... (5) I drove to the border where I presented the original North Carolina title which US Customs stamped (as BROCK rightly points out)... (6) I presented this title to MTO which they 'traded' for an Ontario ownership (I was a little surprised when they kept my NC ownership but it made sense once I thought about it).
I clearly had a risk in that I wired $ before driving the car. However it was a Porsche dealer and I was comfortable that had the car not been as advertised and I did not close the transaction, I could have got my cash back. You might be smarter to insist on a certified cheque, which you would turn over to the seller at the time of signing - my dealership wanted wire xfer vs. certified cheque so I compromised.
I agree with BROCK, with enough detailed high resolution pictures, a PPI, Carfax, your own knowledge to ask the right questions, and a little bit of trust in what the seller is telling you, buying a car in USA can be low risk. Not no risk. But if you want no risk and much less hassle, you can always pay higher prices at your local Canadian Porsche dealer. Anyways, hope that clears it up.
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